A Second Hope
by Cary Martin
Summary: AU Bulma is hiding out on Earth after Freeza took over the planet. Vegetal and other allies set out to find her in hopes that she can create technology to use against their common enemy.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hello world, it has been a LONG time. A lot has happened and life has continued but I am recently feeling inspired to do some fan fiction writing. here is an AU I've been thinking of for awhile. Read and review please!

Chapter 1

Bulma sat in her apartment pulling her aqua hair into a tight ponytail. She stared into the cracked mirror of her vanity and sighed. It was strange that she went from living like royalty to having to share a two-bedroom apartment with her best friend Chi Chi and her mom. A lot had changed in the past couple years. Freeza had attacked, nearly wiping out humanity as they knew it. Capsule Corp had been the target of the tyrant and for her safety her father had sent her into hiding. She did her best to blend in, but it wasn't easy for the young genius to not only play down her intelligence but her looks as well.

Bulma was lost in her own thoughts and didn't notice her friend come into the room.

"Mom says lunch is ready." Bulma jumped as she heard her cheerful voice.

"You scared me Chi!" Bulma giggled as she turned and shot her a sarcastic glare.

"What are you doing staring off into space? Deep in thought again? Should I put on some emo music for you?" Chi Chi smiled. She could only imagine what her friend was dealing with. Although she seemed fine, she often heard Bulma in her sleep shout out for her family. She knew that her friend had witnessed some disturbing things when the invasion happened, but could only do her best to help her move on from it.

"I can listen to my own emo music thank you very much. I will just finished getting dressed and then head out. Thanks." Bulma turned back to the mirror as Chi Chi left the room. She gave her self one more look before pulling open the top drawer to find something to wear. Along with losing her home, she lost her fortune as well. In order to not be tracked, she had to sever all connections that made her a 'Briefs'. She reached in a picked out a black tank top and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. Although she didn't own much, she found that it wasn't so bad to live simply.

After getting dressed she walked out of her and Chi Chi's room to see Chi and her mother sitting at their kitchen table. She quickly joined them and began to eat her ramen that Alicia had prepared.

"Thank you so much Alicia, this is fantastic." Alicia smiled and nodded. She couldn't begin to thank Alicia enough for taking her in without question and raising her like her own. The woman was like a second mother to her and she would do anything to help protect her.

"What are you girls up to today?" Alicia asked.

"Well we will need to go in to see if there is any work for us today. But other than that, no idea." Chi Chi said while continuing to eat the steaming soup.

Alicia stopped eating and looked down at her bowl, "I still don't like that you girls have to work for that creep. I just don't trust him."

"I know mom, but we have to." Chi Chi placed her hand on her mother's arm and smiled. It was true; their work wasn't what you would consider legal. Both girls worked as curriers for a less than honest businessman, but it was not hard work that allowed them to be discreet, paid cash and lots of it.

"Well no point in putting it off anymore. You ready Chi?" Bulma stood, breaking the tension in the room.

"Alright, we will be back soon mom." Chi Chi stood and kissed her mother on the cheek.

Both girls cleared their places and left without another word, leaving Alicia sitting at the table with nothing but her thoughts.

Vegeta leaned again the wall in the royal war room with his usual scowl. He was practicing his deep breathing to calm himself down. He was sick of having to hear these people bicker back and forth and would rather just put them out of their misery. Unfortunately, he knew that there was nothing he could do at this point. He would just have to wait and let the politicians do their job so he could do his.

"But King Vegeta," a green skinned alien spoke standing at the large stone table, "we need to do something about this Freeza, he is continuing destroy planets and enslave people!"

King Vegeta sat at the head of the table with his chin resting on his white-gloved hand. He appeared to be deep in thought. He understood that this Freeza would need to be dealt with, especially before he turned his sights to Planet Vegeta. "I understand Sir Dende," the king spoke in a deep voice that commanded attention, "but although we possess the strength, I am afraid that Freeza has acquired some technology that we cannot ignore."

Vegeta knew what his father was talking about; Freeza had recently acquired some ki-blocking technology, which made their ki attacks useless. For most of Freeza's army this would not matter, but when it came to his elite soldiers it would pose a problem. It frustrated the prince that this tyrant would have to stoop to use technology to beat them versus just the honor of sheer strength.

"I understand King Vegeta, but I have a plan." Vegeta's ears perked up as he heard the Namak speak. "What if we could create our own technology to counter act the ki-shields?" The king and Vegeta were now both paying more attention to their green guest.

"How would be able to accomplish this?" The king asked.

"What if I told you that the scientist that Freeza used to create these ki-shields has a daughter who is just as brilliant? We could go and find her and convince her to help us create the technology we need to take Freeza down!" Dende slammed his clenched fist on the stone table. Although they didn't show their surprise, both royal Saiyjins were shocked by the Namak's anger.

The king leaned back in his thrown deep in thought. "Sir Dende, are you sure this daughter is still alive? And how would we know that she could even make something to counter act what her father created? How do we know these are not all just rumors?"

Dende sat in his chair mentally stewing over the king's questions. It was true, Dende did not know if she was capable to create something to help them, he didn't even know if she was alive. It had been just as the king said, a rumor that he heard from some of Freeza's men. "At this point King Vegeta," Dende paused, "it is the only hope that we have."

The king stood along with all of the counsel members, he turned his gaze to his son. "Prepare your ship Vegeta, you leave for Earth immediately."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bulma and Chi Chi walked through the crowded and crumbling streets of the city. The attack had left Earth in shambles and with Freeza kidnapping and using all of their most gifted citizens, there were very few people left with the skills to help rebuild. Many didn't even care because when they would attempt to restore their homes or businesses, Freeza's goons who were left behind to keep an eye out for Bulma would ransack and destroy.

The girls moved quickly making sure to not draw attention to them selves. They knew this city like the back of their hand. It was also in the job description to remain discreet. Bulma wore a baseball cap that her friend Yamcha had given her years ago and large sunglasses. Chi Chi, not needing to be as careful wore her long black hair down. She wore a black tank top similar to Bulma's and a pair of khaki shorts.

Neither spoke as they dodged fallen pieces of buildings and garbage that had just been discarded. It pained Bulma to see her once pristine city look like trash. However, she was learning to live with it as nothing was going to change.

The girls arrived at an abandoned building and walked inside through a blasted out wall. Inside there was very little light except for the beams of sunlight that streamed through the holes and windows of the old building. The girls made there way over to a cracked open door with some light shining out from under the door. They both seemed to take in a sharp breath as they pushed open the door.

Inside the small room was a man standing behind a dusty and broken desk in a very expensive pin striped suite. He was bald with piercing eyes. What was the most surprising was his tattoo in the middle of his forehead. Bulma would never understand why you would want anyone to think that you had three eyes, but there were a lot of things that she didn't understand anymore.

"Mr. Tien," Bulma said as she removed her sunglasses. He looked at the two girls without saying a thing but simply but a brief case on the table.

"My employer would like this delivered to the old business district. A contact will be waiting for it in the old Capsule Corp. building."

Bulma's chest tightened and she tried to mask her surprise when he mentioned her old home. Chi Chi quickly reached for the case hoping to take away from Bulma's reaction. It was important that no one figured out who Bulma really was, Freeza had an enormous ransom out for her.

"Is there a timeline?" Chi Chi asked as she inspected the case. It wasn't as heavy as she was expecting.

Tien hadn't seemed to notice Bulma's reaction and looked to Chi Chi. "Tomorrow morning at 8 am. Once the package is delivered and confirmed, you will receive your payment."

"Great – we will deliver this tomorrow am. Anything else?"

"Just be alert. This is a very important package and there are people who are on the lookout for it." Tien turned his gaze back to Bulma who was trying to remain calm while she felt herself slipping into shock. "I would go straight home and stay there until tomorrow."

With that, Chi Chi pulled on Bulma's arm and they retreated out of the room and then out of the building. When the air hit Bulma's face she was finally able to take a trembling breath; her hands were now clenched in tight fists as she fought to contain her anger and sadness. She had not been back to her home since she was sent away by her father and did not know if she would be able to face it.

"Are you okay? Let's get home and regroup." Chi Chi said as she placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. She knew that this would be difficult, but if she needed to, she could deliver the package herself to spare her friend the memories.

Bulma took another breath and looked to Chi Chi, "Thanks. I think that's a good idea. Let's get home and figure out what we are going to do."

With that the two girls walked a little faster back to their small apartment heeding Tien's warning. However, they were too immersed in thought to notice the shadow that followed.

Vegeta didn't need to be told twice to prepare as he left the war room after being given the order from his father. He was not sure how he felt about a retrieval mission, but he understood why his father entrusted it to him. If it was true that the scientist's daughter was still alive, the king needed someone he trusted to bring her back, and that was Vegeta.

Vegeta walked quickly down the medieval hallways of the palace. Although Saiyjins were a race of warriors, they were also traditionalists. The halls were adorned with the crest of Planet Vegeta and portraits of all of Vegeta's distant relatives. When he turned the corner he entered a large open room, standing in the middle of the room were a group of soldiers deep in conversation. Each wore Saiyjin armor with blue body suites underneath.

"We have a mission." Vegeta spoke as he walked toward the group. When they heard their prince, they all quickly stood in attention. "We will be traveling to Earth to retrieve a scientist in hopes that she can create a counter to the ki-shields."

"Alright! I can't wait. I am so sick of waiting to do something about that bastard!" One of the soldiers yelled while crouching down in what looked like a squat.

"Kakkorot," Vegeta snorted, "don't get too excited. Earth was all but destroyed by Freeza year ago. They have no fighting power at all so at best we will encounter some third rate guards."

Kakkorot giggled and ran his hand through his hair as he stood, now taller than Vegeta. "Oh well, can't blame me for getting a little excited!"

"How many of us are going?" Radditz asked.

"It needs to be a small team so that we do not draw attention to Freeza. We have no idea if this scientist is even alive. And if she is, she has successfully hidden from Freeza for two years. Kakkorot and myself will travel to Earth and you and Nappa will remain in orbit in case we need backup."

Nappa and Raditz smirked at one another happy that they were not being left completely out of the action.

"Alright," Kakkorot posed once again, "when do we leave?"

"Now." Vegeta said as he and his comrades turned and walked toward the launch pad.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bulma and Chi Chi walked down the crowded street blending into the general population. The girls walked seemingly in stride as Chi Chi held on tightly to the briefcase they had just acquired. Both of their minds were contemplating what was so important that they needed to be so cautious about. However, both knew that curiosity killed the cat and they would not be snooping.

The sun was beginning to set as they finally reached their run down apartment complex. All of the buildings were made of grey cement that left little to the imagination. Windows were barred and there was little to no green to help try to break up the depressing image.

The girls climbed up the 8 flights of stairs before they finally reached their apartment, 864B. Chi Chi led the way as she pushed open the door to their home and walked straight back to her room to drop the case under her bed. Bulma followed and collapsed on the couch. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A lot was on her mind and she was still having a hard time processing the idea of returning to her home. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she heard Chi Chi return and pour herself a glass of water. "Is this really happening?" She asked.

Chi Chi simply shrugged as she walked over to her friend and sat next to her on the couch, offering her the glass of water. Bulma gladly accepted and took a long swig. "Hey! Share!" Chi Chi laughed as she grabbed the glass back and frowned noticing that Bulma had managed to take down more than half. "I can do this one on my own, you don't have to go back there." Her tone was very serious.

Bulma closed her eyes again and sighed. She did not want to go back there, she knew that for sure. However, she couldn't just let her friend do this job on her own. Tien made a point to warn them about this job. He had never done that before. If there really was a chance of a fight, she needed to be there for her friend.

"No Chi, I will go with you. Hell, maybe it will give me some weird kind of closure."

Chi Chi did not respond. Bulma was happy that the conversation had ended. She didn't want to think more about it. She wanted to just get this job over with and never have to set foot in her old home again.

Bulma sat up and stretched. "Alright, I am hitting the gym. Want to come with?"

Chi Chi shook her hand and smiled. "No, you go ahead you meat head. I think it is best that one of us stays with 'the package' at all times."

Bulma shrugged her shoulders and went to their room to change. Ever since the attack, Bulma had made it a point to exercise and learn some basic defense. She knew she was no match for an alien but if she could at least protect herself enough to run away, it may make a difference.

When Bulma came out she looked like a whole new person. She had put on a pair of black yoga pants and a black mid drift baring top. Her hair was in a high ponytail that matched her aqua tennis shoes. She had always been lean, but since her workout regime, her body had toned in ways that she loved. She enjoyed feeling strong and found that exercise was one of her only escaped.

"Alright, I will be back in a couple hours. Don't worry about me for dinner, I will just make something when I get home." Chi Chi waved as Bulma placed the ear buds in her ears and cranked up her mp3 player.

She left the apartment complex and ran down the street becoming lost in the music. She loved the freedom she felt as she began to sweat. The only thing on her mind was her destination and her objective, get stronger, make the bastards pay.

Vegeta blinked as the lights in the cramped pod came to life. He scowled as he looked out the small window and saw Earth in the distance. The trip hadn't taken too long, especially since they had been working on their space pod technology. They had been able to increase the speed of travel quite a bit, however, they were still behind Freeza and his scientist hostage.

"Computer, time to landing?" Vegeta spoke coolly into the empty pod.

"Estimated time to arrival, 20 minutes."

Vegeta scoffed as he leaned back in the cramped space. _What a waste of my time._ Vegeta thought as he contemplated his mission. He understood the reason for his father's decision, but his warrior blood hated the idea of such an open-ended mission. _That green fool better be right that this 'genius' is worth it._ He growled.

"Hey Vegeta!" Kakkorot's cheerful voice rang through the communicator causing Vegeta to cringe.

"Kakkorot, what do you need?" He spoke with obvious annoyance.

"What's our plan?"

Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose. This was the fourth time that his companion had asked this same question. "Land, find the girl, go back to Vegeta. The same since you asked last time."

"Yea," Kakkorot giggled, "but how do we find her. I mean if she is this good at hiding, where do we even start?"

Vegeta had to admit he had been thinking the same thing. After several silent moments he responded with the only thought he had, "we start where it began. Capsule Corps."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **A/N Thanks for reading so far. I appreciate it. I will for sure try to make the chapters longer. I have two littles running around the house so it can be hard to have time to write, but I will do my best!**

Bulma returned home drenched in sweat. The heiress had pushed herself and could barely make it to the sink to pour herself a glass of water. She leaned against the counter after quickly taking down a glass and stretched. Although she felt exhausted, her mind was still running a million miles a minute. She took several deep breaths and refilled the glass. Turning to face the small living room she couldn't help but think of how different this was than her old family room. Memories of her old home were coming back at the prospect of being there and it was stressing her out. Shaking it off, Bulma headed to the bathroom to take a shower and to try to calm her self some more.

Chi Chi had heard her friend come in but decided to stay in their room. She was working on an old college calculus textbook she had found on the street by the old university. She certainly wasn't as smart as her blue haired friend, but she wasn't a dolt. She worked hard and it paid off. In order to keep her mind sharp, she had been working on different concepts while Bulma was working out. She would occasionally ask Bulma for some help but found that she loved the challenge; it wasn't easy, but it gave her something to do.

The raven haired girl yawned as she looked at the time. 9:47 pm. _Where did this day go?_ Chi Chi thought to her self as she closed the heavy book. She slid it under her bed and it knocked into the case. Chi Chi stopped and for a second debated opening it. _What harm could it really do to just take a peek?_ She reached for the case and was about to pull it out when she heard her doorknob open to reveal a now clean and Bulma. She quickly moved her hand away and smiled. "How was your workout?"

Bulma looked at her friend and raised her eyebrow. Chi Chi never cared about her workouts and certainly never asked about them. "Fine…" She drew out the word as she tried to figure out what her friend was up to. "How was…math?"

Chi Chi smirked and waved her hand in a dismissive way. "Getting too easy. I am going to need a new one soon. Maybe we could pick a physics book or engineering one from your house tomo…" She instantly covered her mouth with her hands. She hadn't meant to go that far but had been lost in thought.

Bulma felt her chest tighten. Chi Chi of course was right, in her old room were countless volumes of college level books. They were most likely still there if they her room was still intact. "Of course Chi, that's a great idea…" Bulma tried to hide the pain in her voice unsuccessfully.

"I'm sorry B. I didn't mean to bring it up. Sometimes I just go off in my brain and don't think about what I am saying."

"I get it." Bulma reassured her friend as she grabbed some clean clothes from her dresser. She was about to return to the bathroom to change when she added. "I do it too."

As she left, Chi Chi fell back onto her bed in frustration. She understood how hard this had to be on Bulma, she did, however it had been two years. Two years of dancing around the subject of anything Capsule Corporation. Two years of avoiding any discussion of their old life pre-invasion. It was exhausting. Chi Chi just hoped that tomorrow would maybe bring the closure that Bulma needed to really begin to move on.

The next morning both girls rose and headed to the kitchen to be warmly greeted by Alicia and delicious pancakes. They knew Alicia was worried as she only cooked pancakes when worried. They were an easy distraction for her. She hated that the girls had to work and that she could not. During the invasion, Alicia had been traumatized and was prone to panic attacks. Just going to the store was almost enough to cause an episode. So, the girls had taken it on themselves to provide while she mentally healed.

"So mom, what are you going to do today? Work on the garden?" Chi Chi tried to distract her mother from what was going to happen with whatever small talk she could come up with.

"Oh Chi," Alicia laughed, "I would hardly call our 4 potted plants a garden."

"Well fine! What are you up to today?" She smiled.

"After I tend to our _garden_ ," she said sarcastically, "I was going to go out for a minute or two… maybe get some fresh air."

Both Chi Chi and Bulma stopped eating and smiled. "I think that's a fantastic idea!" Bulma clapped. "I wouldn't push yourself. Maybe you should wait until we get home and then we could walk with you."

Alicia thought for a moment and nodded. "That's probably for the best."

"Perfect. We will go and drop off this case and then rush back so we can go on a walk." Chi Chi couldn't contain her excitement. The idea of her mom leaving the house made her so happy that she just wanted to get their job done.

"Well don't act like I've never been outside before. But I will wait for you girls and then we can all go together. "

"Alright, it's settled," Bulma said between a bites, "let's do this."

Vegeta and Kakkorot had landed the night before but rather than heading straight to Capsule Corp. they opted to have an impromptu training session. By opted, Vegeta felt the need to take out his frustration on his lighthearted friend, for all of the questioning in the pod.

"Where is this place?" Kakkorot asked as they walked toward the dying city. "And why can't we fly?"

"Because you idiot, we are trying to be discreet." Vegeta took some more breaths trying to calm him self. "First, these humans will never trust aliens and we don't want to alert them to our gifts. Second, the woman has been hiding for years and every worthless henchmen is looking for her, why would we want her to think that we are some pathetic lackeys trying to abduct her."

"Oh, I guess." The taller Saiyjin ran his hands through his hair. "How long until we get there? I am starved!"

"Shut up you worthless…" Vegeta was stopped mid sentence as he felt someone or something begin to power up in the city. He looked to his companion who must have sensed it to as his eyebrows came to a frown.

"Let's go." The prince spoke as the two took off towards the city trying their best to remain undetected.

Bulma and Chi Chi had walked to a part of the city that neither of them had been to in years. Bulma wasn't surprised that she remembered exactly how to get home even though it had been so long. It was strange that she was feeling oddly calm – she expected to be panicking as she passed the familiar landmarks etched in her brain; but all she felt was numbness.

When the huge compound came into view, both girls stopped. Chi Chi looked to Bulma for any kind of sign that she wanted to turn around or to keep going. Bulma just stared at her old home. "I want to go home Chi." She said unprompted. And her dark haired friend smiled and followed and Bulma lead the way.

It didn't take long to reach the building as Bulma's walk had quickly turned to a jog and then a sprint. When she finally reached the front door of the desolated building her heart broke. Her home was broken, falling apart and she had just left it. She walked through a giant hole in the wall, most likely caused from when the aliens blasted in to abduct her father and looked around what used to be her family kitchen. She looked over at sink, filled with debris and imagined her mother smiling while washing dishes. Her chest felt heavy as she continued to walk inside the shell of her home, dragging her fingers along the dust covered counters. Dishes, appliances and papers where thrown about and it looked like chaos.

Chi Chi finally entered the home gasping for air. "Geez B," she managed to say between her labored breathing, "you could have waited for me!" She looked up to see her friend in a trance like state. She had not known what to expect when they got there and was surprised when Bulma took off in a full sprint. She cursed herself for not working out more like her friend but tried her best to keep up. She had to admit, she was glad her friend seemed to be handling it so well.

"Dumplings…"

"What?" Chi Chi couldn't hide her surprise.

"Dumplings," Bulma repeated, "that's what mom was making right before…" She couldn't finish and took a deep breath looking at the ceiling. Bulma refused to cry. She refused to make this negative; she needed this to be positive. She needed to feel that good that was here, the love, no the hurt.

"Shit!" Chi Chi looked down at her watch. "It's almost time. Let's find this guy and be done. Any idea where he would be?"

Bulma thought for a moment. "Conference room." Without another word, the heiress led the way to what would change their lives forever.


End file.
